PCAD: Prosthetic comfort by design an educational innovation in prosthetic measurement

Over 40 Million people with lower-limb amputation have to overcome significant challenges to acquire and use a prosthetic device. For patients seeking to regain mobility, the most important aspect in rehabilitation is the fit and comfort of a simple low-cost connecting socket. But, with each socket currently crafted entirely by hand, the existing trial-and-error fitting approach can take many hours of clinical time, and multiple visits. With ongoing resource and skills shortages, the biggest issue now facing providers/payers of prosthetic care is the time it takes for a prosthesis to be designed, produced, and delivered. Healthcare systems seek cost-effective solutions that drive productivity and improve outcomes. By modernising prosthetic care provision through advanced digital fitting and fulfilment technologies, PCAD can enhance patient accessibility to significantly improve the quality of life for millions of prosthetic users worldwide.

Based on extensive patient-centric research conducted at the UK’s leading prosthetic teaching centre, PCAD have developed a transformative, digital limb-scanning solution that dramatically improves the productivity of socket fitting process. What used to take hours, now takes seconds. Our proprietary solution produces an accurate 3D representation of a limb under “loaded“ conditions to provide a more reliable socket fit, reduced tissue pressure, and improved long-term patient comfort. The image is then converted into a digitised software measurement model with which to rapidly deliver an ultra-comfortable, uniquely-fitted socket produced using modern fabrication techniques. Data produced also provides a unique patient record that can then be used to monitor limb health, track physical changes over time, or submitted as evidence for reimbursement purposes with healthcare payers. Integrating seamlessly into today’s modern clinics, PCAD’s process is data driven, consistent, and automated; such that socket fitting is no longer limited by the availability, skill, and experience of individual human prosthetist’s to improve the productivity of prosthetic care provision.